Charles X of France

Charles X of France (9 October 1757-6 November 1836) was King of France from 16 September 1824 to 2 August 1830, succeeding Louis XVIII of France and preceding Louis Philippe I. Charles was a reactionary and an absolutist, and he led the Ultra-Royalists while his brother was still king. In 1830, he was overthrown in the July Revolution.

Biography
Charles was born on 9 October 1757, the youngest son of Dauphin Louis and Maria Josepha of Saxony; he was the grandson of Louis XV of France and the younger brother of Louis XVI of France and Louis XVIII of France. Charles was the most conservative member of the House of Bourbon, and he opposed Louis XVI's appeasement of the Third Estate during the French Revolution. On 17 July 1789, Charles and several members of the royal family went into exile in England, and he arrived in Paris on 12 April 1815 after Napoleon I abdicated. He created a royalist secret police force while serving as regent for his wheelchair-bound brother, and he became the Count of Artois. He often bullied his brother, who was liberal, as he often threatened to leave the country unless his brother dismissed liberal cabinet ministers, and he patronized reactionary politicians such as Jules de Polignac. His youngest son, Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry was murdered by a Bonapartist in 1820, angering Charles; this reinforced his hatred for opposition figures.

In 1824, Charles inherited the throne of France after the death of his brother, and his actions quickly angered the powerful bourgeoisie middle class. In 1825, he reduced the interest on government bonds, held mainly by the bourgeoisie, from 5 to 3 percent in order to get money to compensate the aristocracy for the land they had lost during the French Revolution. In 1827, Charles also disbanded the French National guard, whose members were drawn chiefly from the bourgeoisie. When the liberals and moderate royalists gained a majority in the Chamber of Deputies in 1827, Charles sought to govern in association with them, but he later changed course and named the reactionary prince Jules de Polignac as premier in 1829. In May 1830, he implemented the Four Ordinances after the liberals won a majority in the Chamber of Deputies. This led to the July Revolution, fought by the artisans and tradespeople of Paris and led by the bourgeoisie. Charles abdicated and fled to Britain, and he later died in Goerz, Austria (now Gorizia, Italy) on 6 November 1836 at the age of 79.